The Mysterious Girl
by DoctorPhantom
Summary: My OC where the Doctor gets a new companion who's a bit of a mystery to him. I DO NOT OWN DOCTOR WHO!
1. A Meeting

The door of the white room opened as Dr. Samuels stepped over the threshold. The automatic doors slid closed behind him. The room wasn't much. There was a small amount of space with mattress padding all around. The room's one occupant sat with her back facing Dr. Samuels, dark hair streaming down to her shoulders. She sat in a fetal position, pulling and tugging on the white nightgown she had been issued. Dr. Samuels looked at his chart. This was a difficult case, he noticed. A young girl, age around seventeen years, named Ravena. She never talked to any of the doctors directly, whatever that meant, but she did possess some speaking ability. The girl had also been placed in the hospital's care because no other doctor could get through to her. She had been diagnosed with insanity, often speaking about different things that did not exist.

Dr. Samuels shook his head at this nonsense and addressed the girl. "Hello, I understand that you're Ravena."

She didn't respond.

"My name is Dr. Samuels," he continued. "I'll be looking after you from now on."

"Doctor?" she moaned. "My Doctor?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Dr. Samuels. Now, let's talk about what's bothering you, shall we?"

"Doctor?" she whispered. "Where? Where's my Doctor?"

"Right behind you." He looked at the chart. "I understand that you keep seeing things. Things that keep you up at night and make you scream. Tell me about those things."

"I want my Doctor," she whimpered. "I don't want you, I want my Doctor. Where is he? Where's my Doctor? Did you bring him?"

"No." Dr. Samuels sighed. "It's just me today, Ravena. No one else."

"Where's my Doctor?" She asked him. "I want my Doctor. I don't want you. I want my Doctor. I want my Doctor and no one else."

"Today, you'll have to put up with me." He uncapped his pen. "Now, about these things that have been troubling you lately, what are they? Tell me about them."

Ravena began to rock back and forth. "My Doctor!" she cried. "I want my Doctor! No one else but my Doctor! He can make them go away! He can! I WANT MY DOCTOR!"

"Calm down," Dr. Samuels urged. "You're making this worse, alright? Just talk to me. I'm your doctor, alright? I'm here to help you."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. Her hand gripped his, crushing the bone beneath the skin. She threw him toward the far side of the room. Ravena turned and narrowed her eyes in his direction. Dr. Samuels couldn't help but stare at the intense blue eyes that almost looked like a combination of blue flames and sapphires.

"You aren't my Doctor," she told him.

"Yes, I am." He stood on his feet. "Now listen to me and we can talk through this together."

She stood and gripped his wrist, crushing the bone even further. Dr. Samuels fell to his knees in agony as a pain shot through his heart, crushing the organ like a hand that slowly squeezed the life out of his body.

Ravena released him and he fell to the ground dead. She turned and sat back down with her back facing the doors. She pressed her forehead against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Doctor?" she pleaded. "Help me."

The TARDIS materialized in front of a hospital. The Doctor walked out, adjusted his bowtie, and checked the psychic paper once more. The words clearly read Memorial Hospital, and here it was in front of him. He stored the paper in his jacket pocket and strode off toward the entrance.

At once, the smell of antibiotics hit him. He wrinkled his nose at the smell and located the receptionists desk.

"Hello!" He smiled. "I'm the Doctor. I got a call the other day about one of your patients."

A man in a white coat walked over to the desk. "They call you the Doctor?" he asked.

"That's me."

"Are you really thinking of putting this man in that room?" the receptionist asked.

He nodded and beckoned toward the Doctor. "This way. I'll explain on the way."

The Doctor followed the man.

"So, I hear there's a difficult patient here?" he inquired.

"Yes." The man nodded solemnly. "The patient has fits of anger and hallucinations. Sometimes we even hear her screaming and writhing in the night. Frightened the other patients so much that we placed her in a soundproof room. You should be cautious though."

"Why's that?" He frowned. "I don't suppose she can do any real damage now can she?"

A covered stretcher rolled past them. The man eyed it fearfully.

"Let's just say that if you aren't who she wants," he began, "your best option would be to run and get out of there without talking to her."

He opened up a door and stood aside. "Her name's Ravena."

The Doctor straightened his bowtie and waltzed in. There, he saw the girl, crouched with her back to him against the wall. She started rocking back and forth. The Doctor noticed a camera in the corner. He suspected that she was under surveillance.

"Hello," he greeted. "I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor?" she whispered as the rocking increased. "My Doctor?"

"I'm not sure, but I am the Doctor if that helps."

She stopped rocking and sat absolutely still. "Can you make them go away?"

"I can try." He took out his sonic screwdriver. "Tell me, what's been bothering you?"

Ravena gripped her head in pain. She whimpered.

The Doctor knelt down and slowly inched toward her. "What's happening?" he encouraged. "What do you see?"

"Burning," she moaned. "Such burning. So much pain and suffering. It hurts, Doctor. The army, I can see it. The great army that has destroyed millions. They fight in the war. It hurts so much. There is so much death in this war."

Ravena stopped and turned to face him. She cocked her head to one side.

"Is that why you did it, Doctor?" She asked him. "Is that why you did it? To stop the killing?"

He blinked. "Did what exactly?"

"Killed them. Killed them all."

He sat down on the floor and stared at her. "How did you know?"

Ravena looked at him. "I simply knew."

The Doctor scanned her and frowned at the results. "You have an entire Time Vortex flowing through your head. Through your entire mind, and you haven't died?"

"Nope." She smiled. "The entirety of time and space inside my head. Really, very big, you know. Anyways, that's there, so that would explain everything. You can leave now, if you want."

"Leave?" He raised his eyebrows. "I can leave you while you still have an entire vortex inside your head? A vortex that will destroy you because you can't handle it?"

"Who said I could never handle it?" Ravena stood. "I can very well handle it, Doctor. You just don't know what you're talking about."

He stood and walked over to her. "Trust me, Ravena, I know that you should never be able to see everything like that. Even I can't see everything like that. I can only see the fixed points and understand that they are supposed to remain fixed. No one should ever have an entire vortex running through their head."

The Doctor gripped her wrist. "Come on. I'm taking you out of here."

He dragged her along behind him out the door. The Doctor ignored the looks people gave him. Ravena simply narrowed her eyes at them, while glancing into different rooms. It had been awhile since she had been outside of that room.

He dragged her out and into the sunlight. The Doctor didn't even stop to open up the box. He simply pushed the door open and walked inside, snapping his fingers to close the doors behind her. Once inside, he released her and she stood there, motionless.

"So this is the TARDIS," she whispered. "It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be."

The Doctor nodded and his fingers worked over the controls. "I had to downsize a bit so the new remodel would have room."

Ravena trotted up to the controls and ran her hands along the console. "Hello there, sexy. It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

He frowned at her. "What did you just call her?"

"Her name." She shrugged and walked over to the monitor, staring at her reflection. "Odd. Didn't think I would like that. Thought I would be a bit taller."

"Ah, here we go," the Doctor muttered. "Hold on just a second, Ravena, and you'll be rid of the vortex."

"What?" She looked at him. "When exactly did I say that I wanted to be rid of the vortex?"

"Never," he muttered. "I simply decided that it would keep you alive."

Ravena stared at him with cold eyes. "Listen here, Doctor. I don't know what Gallifey taught you and everything, but I happen to know that removing a vortex from a person's mind has the capability of destroying their very identity and completely rewriting their entire history. Some other bloke might enjoy a complete rewrite, but I don't!"

"Too bad," he decided flipping the switch.

A door to the console opened and a golden light streamed out from Ravena and into the console. The light vanished and the Doctor closed the door. She stood there, wavering for a bit.

"Ravena?" the Doctor asked her.

She stared at him with blank eyes. "Nevermore," she whispered.

Then she collapsed. The Doctor rushed over to her side. He scanned her with the sonic screwdriver and checked the results. Her entire history was being erased and rewritten. Everything she was, everything she ever will be. All rewritten.

Her eyes opened and the Doctor leaned back. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked around, slightly confused.

"Hello there," the Doctor greeted.

"Hello," she answered. "Where am I?"

"Inside the TARDIS." He gestured around. "Basically, you're traveling around in a little blue box that happens to be bigger on the inside."

"And who are you?"

"The Doctor." He grinned and adjusted his bowtie. "Who might you be?"

She blinked, trying to remember. "Ravena Black," she answered. "Though I'd prefer Raven. Sounds much more like me."

"The welcome aboard the TARDIS, Raven!" He sprinted over to the controls. "If you'd just tell me where you came from, then I'll have you there in a second."

Raven stood. "I would, Doctor," she answered. "It's just that, I don't know where I came from."

"You don't?" He peered at her. "Is there anything at all that could help me figure it out?"

She frowned and shook her head. "Nothing. In fact, I don't even remember who I am."


	2. The Time Lord's Daughter

Raven stepped cautiously around the console of the TARDIS. She leaned on the controls and eyed the monitor. Automatically, her hands adjusted one of the knobs, and the TARDIS started purring in happiness. She glanced around, looking for the Doctor. He wasn't anywhere in sight. She brought the monitor closer and typed in controls. She frowned at the screen. The image went fuzzy and static, finally vanishing into oblivion.

"Doctor?" she called. "Something's off with the monitor! Doctor? Doctor? Where are you?"

Raven turned and peered outside of the TARDIS. There, she found the Doctor calmly sitting on a bench with his glasses on, reading a novel. She groaned and walked over to join him.

"Doctor!" she yelled, clapping her hands in front of his face.

He jumped and spun around. "Oi!" he called. "Don't you know better than to interrupt me during a novel?"

"Doctor, the monitor's all weird," she explained. "It's broken. I don't think I can get it working again."

"Oh, forget about that." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's a lovely day out, Ravena. Go enjoy yourself for once! Be back here though around nightfall! There's supposed to be an eclipse _and_ a meteor shower _at the same time_!"

There was a shrill ring from the TARDIS's phone. The Doctor's face fell at the sound of it and Raven disentangled herself from his arm. She answered the phone and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Doctor," came River's breathless voice. "Doctor...you…can't...need...come…now…."

There was a noticeable amount of static in between her words. So much, in fact, that Raven had difficulty making out what River was saying. There was a scream and then the phone was disconnected.

"Doctor!" Raven called, throwing open the doors. "It's River! It sounds like she's in trouble!"

"No, no." The Doctor shook his head and went past her. He sighed and fell into one of the chairs.

"Doctor?" Raven glanced at him curiously. "What is it? Something wrong?"

"It's River, that's all." He removed his glasses and stored them in his coat pocket. There was a noticeable change in his mood. "Just a bunch of timey wimey complicated stuff going on."

"Then you should go to her and get this all sorted out." She stood at the controls and started twisting levers and dials. "Here, I'll drive."

"NO!" the Doctor shouted, jumping to his feet. "Absolutely not!"

"What?" she cocked her head, taken aback by his shouting. The Doctor almost never shouted at her.

His face fell and he sunk back into the chair. "I'm sorry, Ravena. It's just that things are complicated right now."

"Then you should go work it out with River," she insisted. "That'll at least start to make things easier between the two of you."

"I can't," he sighed and walked over to the monitor, typing in a few things. "I just can't, Raven. I thought you said the monitor was broken?"

"It is." She shrugged. "I guess you fixed it."

"No." He shook his head. "I didn't do anything." He typed in something else and frowned. "This is bad, though," he muttered.

"What?" Raven walked over to his side. "What's bad?"

"This," the Doctor explained, typing again. "The TARDIS isn't finding you."

"What?" She shook her head. "Maybe you typed it in wrong. Try my full name. You know, the one I hate."

"Nope, nothing," he reported.

Raven stared at the screen. RAVENA ALEXANDRA CASSANDRA BLACK was typed in at the top, but there was nothing below it.

"I've been deleted?" she asked. "How?"

"Not just deleted." The Doctor sighed and hung his head. "No. If you were deleted from her files, that would be an easy fix. That is, if the TARDIS was a normal computer. However, she's not. If you're deleted from the TARDIS's files, Ravena, then that means that you've been deleted from every file in the entire universe. In other words, you don't exist."

"How can I not exist?" she asked in disbelief. "I mean, I exist right now, don't I?"

The Doctor sniffed her and nodded. "Yep. Definitely exist. I still don't understand how this is happening. Unless...unless...unless…." He snapped his fingers. "Unless…. Ah of course! That is perfect!"

"Confused over here," she called. "What's perfect?"

"Something is happening within your own time stream!" the Doctor explained. "Some obvious part that can have a big influence on whether or not you are alive. I'm guessing that it would have something to do with your parents. An important decision within their lives, in their entire history perhaps. More importantly, it's a decision that greatly affects you. Otherwise, this wouldn't be happening."

The TARDIS phone started ringing again. The Doctor put all focus into the TARDIS's controls, making it clearly obvious that he was ignoring the phone. Annoyed, Raven went over to answer the phone.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Raven?" came River's voice. "Where's the Doctor? Has he been harmed?"

"No," she replied slowly. "He's busy with the TARDIS and clearly that takes _all_ of his attention."

"Just tell him that he needs to get over here, quickly," River called.

"Doctor?" Raven called out to him. "River says that you need to go to her quickly!"

The Doctor continued what he was doing, ignoring her.

"River? He seems to be deaf right now. River?" The line had gone dead.

Raven hung up the phone and walked over to the Doctor.

"Hello?" she called. "You could've at least gone over there and talked to her, you know!"

"Hm?" he asked "Talked to who?"

"River Song." She rolled her eyes.

The Doctor turned to look at her and his eyes widened in surprise. "Ah, hello. Who are you and how did you get onto my TARDIS?"

"Raven?" She peered at him curiously. "And you invited me here, remember?"

The phone rang again and the Doctor walked over to answer it. Raven stood and glanced at the monitor. She typed in her name and did a search on all files.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor yelled at her.

"Searching." she shrugged. "Maybe if I did another search, then I might be able to figure out why the TARDIS decided to delete me. Maybe even find my parents and make sure that I survive."

"Well get your hands off the console!" he shouted, waving her away. "This ship is going wherever I tell it to and that's final!"

"So where exactly are we going?" she asked him.

"Not we!" he pointed out. "You are going straight home where you belong. Now, where exactly would that be? And I need exact details."

"With you." She crossed her arms. "Inside the TARDIS. Why do you keep treating me like you don't know who I am? Is this supposed to be one of your ideas to save the world, timestream, and whatever else is involved?"

"Fine." The Doctor sighed and pulled a few levers. "You can come with me, but don't touch anything!"

The TARDIS groaned and wheezed. Raven was thrown backward as the TARDIS jolted. The Doctor walked to the doors and waved his hand.

"After you." He bowed, trying to look like a gentleman.

Raven opened the doors and stepped out into a brightly lit hallway.

"Interesting," she muttered. "A hospital."

"Normally not the reaction I get." He frowned. "now, you go on off to the waiting room and see if anyone there can help you. Maybe even find a nice doctor to take care of you. Either way, I'm out of here!"

The Doctor rushed off down the hall, leaving Raven to stare at his quickly disappearing back as he dodged around carts and wheelchairs.

"But you're the Doctor!" she shouted after him. "You're supposed to be the one to look after me!"

An alien shouldered past her. She shook her head and peered after the alien. Raven shrugged and walked along a hall, peering into open rooms. There were aliens of all types around here. She was in an alien hospital! Maybe the Doctor or River would know what kinds of aliens these were. If only she could find River and ask, or the Doctor, but he ended up leaving her.

She screamed in frustration, drawing some very curious glances her way.

A nurse walked over to her with a clipboard.

"Hello, sweetie," the nurse greeted fondly. "You seem to be having some anger issues. Did you get out of your room somehow?"

"No." Raven sighed. "I just seem to be having a bad day lately."

"Here," the nurse held out her hand. "Come with me and we'll get you settled in nice and cozy."

"Actually I was just about to visit someone," she lied. "He's in that room over there." Raven pointed in the general direction the Doctor had gone.

She quickly started to back away as a doctor approached, holding a very large needle filled with suspicious liquid.

"Also I'm highly allergic to F-419," she admitted, reading the label on the syringe.

A man grabbed her arm and injected her with the syringe. She blinked and groaned, falling to the floor.

"Yep," she managed. "Highly allergic…."

Raven groaned and woke up, finding herself strapped down onto a bed. She looked around and stared at all of the machines they had hooked up to her.

"What are you doing?" she called. "What is this?"

"A simple task," a voice answered.

She looked to her side and saw an Ood standing there.

"What task?" she asked it.

"You are dying," he answered. "This shall make your death less painful. Like falling

asleep."

"The Doctor," she requested. "Where is he?"

"He does not remember you," it reported. "He was brought in here previously. There was no recorded memory of you."

"What?" She blinked. "Get me out of here then. I don't want to spend my last moments strapped down!"

The Ood pressed a button and she smiled, sitting up and rubbing her wrists.

"That's better!" She stood and faced him. "Now, where is the Doctor?"

She came to a stop in front of a room. Raven peered inside, staring at the two occupants.

"Doctor?" she asked him.

He turned. "Ah, yes. That would be me. You are…?"

"Raven," she answered.

He walked over to her. "Well I am sorry but I am quite busy. If you'll just leave your name and such, then I'll be right with you."

She blinked and turned. Raven walked through the halls until she found the TARDIS. She fingered the door and opened it up. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

"Hello, again," she whispered. "Do you still remember me at least?" Raven paused. "No, of course not. You were the first one to forget who I was."

She drifted a finger across the monitor. "Can you tell me who I am at least? Can you tell me why people are forgetting who I am?"

There was silence. She sighed.

"I suppose that's a 'no' then, huh?"

There was a noise and she turned. A hologram of the Doctor was standing there in front of her.

"This is emergency protocol three four eight."

"Great timing." She crossed her arms. "What do you want?"

"This is the Doctor speaking, in case you've forgotten. It would seem that things have gone a bit odd lately. I seem to be having holes in my memory as of late. Anyways, this is a message for anyone out there who could help me remember. There is one very important thing that you have to remind me of: who Ravena is. I can't seem to remember certain parts even now. Somehow, I just know that part of her history is vanishing. Probably because of the rewrite that's going on. Anyways, it would seem that something is wrong with your history, and if you don't fix it...well...let's just say that someone important is going to vanish into oblivion. You have to help me remember. Just start with the little things. Only you can help me, Ravena. Only you."

The hologram faded out and she groaned.

"How am I supposed to help you if I can't even remember who I am in the first place?"

The door opened and the Doctor stopped and stared at her.

"Why do you keep popping up everywhere I go?" he asked.

"I came to see this…." she whispered. "I've heard stories…."

"Get out!" The Doctor grabbed her shoulder and tossed her out.

"Wait!" she stood and showed him the back of her hand. "My name is Ravena Black!"

Two nurses came and grabbed her shoulder. She looked wildly around, seeing one of them holding a syringe.

"Doctor!" she yelled, trying to stop them. "Doctor! Listen to me!"

She fought her way through to him. "Doctor! Please. Just listen to me!"

A needle was stuck into her back. "Doctor!"

He looked at her. "I'm sorry. I have to go."

She blinked and looked at them all. "I'm sorry…. Rewrite…. Nevermore…. Not safe…."

They released her and she started to fall. The Doctor ran toward her and caught her.

She blinked. "Time...distortion…. Two...can't exist...same…."

"What?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

"Vortex...TARDIS...death...time...Doctor…."

He stood and walked over to the TARDIS. He set her down and closed the door. The Doctor walked over to the controls and flipped a switch. The TARDIS started moving.

She woke up and slowly sat up, looking around at the TARDIS.

"Doctor?" she called, holding her head. "Doctor?"

Raven stood and looked at the cracked door. She sighed and walked through, stepping onto a park. He was there, calmly reading a book.

"The monitor's finally fixed," he announced as she approached. "You're welcome."

She sat down next to him and shook her head. "Is there something I've been missing? It feels like there's something I've been missing…."

He frowned. "Nothing that I can think of." The Doctor held out his hand and they walked into the TARDIS together. "Now, shall we go somewhere?"


	3. What You Fear

The TARDIS touched down and Raven stepped through the doors. She stopped and stared at the room. She stepped forward slowly, her eyes staring at the walls. There were childlike scribbles. The Doctor followed her and stared at the walls.

"What have we here?" he asked. "An old prison locked in time? Interesting, wouldn't you say?"

"Very," she whispered. "An old Dalek prison. Drifting forever in time and space."

"You know of this place?" he asked her.

"Of course." Raven shrugged. "I was here once. The Daleks came to Arcania during the Time War. They wanted prisoners. They took the children and piled them onto their ships. Figured the Time Lords would surrender to save us. One day for every child's life. Five hundred died, Doctor. Five hundred lives that will never be lived."

"And you?"

"I escaped," she whispered. "Before they could take me. I fought back."

"This writing…." He peered at the walls. "All of these words. 'Nevermore'. What does that mean? Ravena?"

"Doctor?" she turned to face him. "Doctor?"

"Raven." He nodded toward the door of the TARDIS. "Come on. If you were here before, then things might get wrong very quickly."

"Doctor?" she yelled, going toward the cell door. "Doctor? Where did you go?"

"Go?" he asked. "Go where? I'm right here!"

"Doctor!"

"Ravena." He moved over to her and reached toward her shoulder. His fingers went through her body.

"It's a hologram," he whispered. "Just a hologram. The time stream is trying to revert back to the way things should be. You're supposed to be here, not with me. You can't see me because I should never really be here. I will find a way to get you out of here, Ravena. Trust me."

She pressed her hands against the wall. "Doctor…." she moaned. "Please…. You can't leave me here…. Not again…. Not again…."

Raven stood and stared at the wall. She blinked and turned around, frowning.

"Been bad," she whispered. "Writing on walls…. Bad girl…. Very bad…. They won't like it…. Writing's bad…. Bad…."

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked her. "Raven?"

He grabbed her arms and she blinked, pulling away.

"What are you doing here?" she yelled.

"I'm here to get you out," he explained. "Come on."

"To get me out?" She blinked. "Why? You didn't before. Why do I matter now?"

"Before?" He frowned. "What are you talking about? Never mind that. Let's go on back to the TARDIS."

"You left me!" she screamed at him. "You left me alone here! You left me!"

She turned to run and he grabbed her arm. "Ravena, please."

"What?" She wriggled out of his grasp. "Who are you talking about?"

He took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned her. "You don't remember, do you? An entire history…. All rewritten…. Why though?"

"Let me go!" she screamed. "Let me go!"

"Raven!" He wrapped his arms around her. "Come on already! Let's go!"

"No!" she shrieked. "They'll find me! I'm safe here! This is safe! Let me go!"

"Just get into the TARDIS and you can explain later!" he begged.

She screamed, reverting back to her original language. The Doctor slowly dragged her back toward the TARDIS. Raven managed to get out of his hold and she ran to the wall, plastering herself against it.

"All alone," she sang. "All alone…. Nevermore…. Nevermore…. Can't happen now can you? All alone…." She traced one of the words with a finger. "The blood of a thousand Daleks...all screaming in their death…. Not anymore! Hah!" She backed away and pointed at the wall. "You can't get to me now, can you? You were wrong! Here me? You were wrong! Chose the wrong person! Now look where it's gotten you! I'm here...you're dead! All dead! No more! Just dead! Nevermore! Nevermore! Dead! Dead! DEAD!"

She laughed, throwing her head back and laughing. She slowly sank to the floor, laughing and laughing.

She stopped, hands on the floor. "Thought you did wrong then, did you, Doctor?" she whispered. "Thought you could turn back and fix things up again now? Look how wrong you are…. I'm here…. You're dead…. Just like the rest of them…. All dead…. Dead…. Dead…. Dead." She turned to face him. "The dead stay dead and sing no more! No more songs in the head...no more death…. Dead!"

He scanned her with the sonic. "You're getting worse," he whispered. "Pretty soon it'll be like you've never stepped out of here…." He knelt down. "Ravena...please...come with me…."

She leapt on him and grabbed his shirt. "Not going to happen," she whispered. "You didn't listen before...so why should I?"

"This timeline doesn't exist!" he argued. "You're not supposed to be here. You should never have been here." He grabbed her wrist. "Ravena...just come back to the TARDIS with me…."

"Ravena! Ravena! Ravena!" she shouted. "Is that all? Ravena! Not happening! Only one here is me! No one else but me! No one stayed but me! No one's staying but me!"

"Then I'm very sorry about this."

He wrapped an arm around her and pointed the sonic at her. Her breathing calmed and she became heavy with unconsciousness. The Doctor picked her up and carried her back to the TARDIS, gently laying her on the floor inside. He went over to the control panel and they flew off.

Raven groaned, holding her head. She looked around her, seeing the inside of the console room. She was back in the TARDIS.

She stood and saw the Doctor leaning over the console, his face staring at hers.

"Is everything alright?" she asked him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"We should've never gone there," he muttered, returning his attention to the controls.

"What happened? Something bad?"

The Doctor punched the controls and looked at her. "Why didn't you tell me?" he yelled.

"What?" She stepped back, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"The Dalek ship! The prison! Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked."

He grabbed her shoulders. "Tell me, Ravena. 'Blood of a thousand Daleks'? 'Chose the wrong person'? What does that mean?"

"Nothing that hasn't happened already."

"You said that I had come too late...that I had left you before. What does that mean?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Time... Your future...my past. I can't tell you, Doctor. It has to happen on its own."

He held her face. "Nevermore...what about that?"

"I can't tell you. Not yet." She walked toward the monitor. "Come on now...stop the interrogation and let's have a bit of fun now, shall we?"

He put a hand on hers. "Tell me about that Dalek prison ship."

She sighed. "When I was little, Daleks came and invaded Arcania. They took the children prisoner during the Time War. I was one of them. I was the last...they almost took me to Skaro. Instead, I escaped. That ship was the one that was going to take me to Skaro…."

She lost her words and he looked at her. "It's okay," he reassured. "It's alright."

"Time Lords were off fighting the war. We were left behind. Some were converted. Others died. Driven insane. Puppets. I escaped. They didn't touch me. They left me alone and I escaped. Then the war ended and there was nothing. No more Daleks. No more Arcania. I was alone. They wanted me, and I was alone. They tried to kill me but I escaped."

"It's alright. It's over now. You're safe from them. No more Dalek ships." He paused. "What about your parents? Didn't they help you?"

"I escaped. I was roaming around for a bit. Arcania was dead. Everyone."


	4. The Doctor's Choice

Raven sat in the TARDIS as the engines whirred. She glanced over at the Doctor, still not able to bring herself to mention that Calissa didn't exist as of three weeks ago. Her eyes darted to the phone, expecting a call from River Song at any moment. There had to be something to explain this. Maybe Calissa died, or she was kidnapped and taken to another dimension? Another universe perhaps? Something to explain all this.

"Everything alright?" the Doctor asked her. "You seem kind of odd lately. Bit of a gloomy day for you?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "Just thinking."

"Thinking about what?" He asked her.

"The first time I met you," she lied. "It was in here, inside the TARDIS. Then you took me somewhere and left without a trace. Then you came back so suddenly. Without any warning."

"Well," he explained, "I simply took the short way around. It was a hospital, you know? That place where I dropped you off. You had a bit of amnesia and they had to get your memory started again. That was all."

"It's still odd though," she muttered. "How I don't remember much. Like my history and past are busy writing themselves out. Yet, I still remember some things. Like they're important or something."

"I suppose they are." He smiled at her. "Now, where would you like to go?"

"Anywhere," she answered, standing. "Anywhere the TARDIS decides on."

"You heard her, sexy." The Doctor winked. "Anywhere you like."

The engines whirred and stopped as the TARDIS landed. The Doctor pulled Raven behind him as he ran to the doors and threw them open. He stopped, his mouth wide open.

"Ravena?" he asked. "Get back into the TARDIS."

"Why?" She peered around him and stared in horror.

Five Daleks had turned to face them. They had landed on a Dalek spaceship.

"The Doctor has arrived!" one Dalek announced.

"The Doctor will step forward!" another commanded.

"He will do this or be exterminated!" a third chimed in.

The Doctor slowly stepped forward. Raven hung back, fingers clutching the doorframe of the TARDIS.

"Alright," The Doctor spoke. "I'm here." He snapped his fingers and the TARDIS doors slammed shut. Raven ran to the monitor so she could see what was going on outside.

"Now," he continued, "what do you want?"

"The Doctor shall be our prisoner!" the fourth Dalek announced. "Prepare the ship for arrival at Skaro!"

Raven blinked and gasped as images filled her brain. She was imprisoned and chained up in a small metal room. Around her, Dalek voices shouted commands to each other. She was young and scared, and she didn't know why she had been imprisoned.

The memory flashed forward, and she was escaping Skaro in a small ship as the Daleks exploded behind her. There was a faint glow around her, and then nothing. The memory ended in blackness.

"Doctor" she whispered. "Don't."

"You think that you can take me prisoner while my ship is still on board your vessel?" the Doctor pointed out.

"You will have no choice!" a Dalek explained. "You will do as we say!"

"Or what?" he asked.

"Or we will kill our other prisoner." Another Dalek pulled up an image of a small girl, curled up in the center of a room. The Doctor walked toward the image and stared at it. It was a girl with dark brown hair and warm brown eyes. She was young, maybe ten years old. Strangely, Raven felt like she knew the girl from somewhere.

"Calissa," the Doctor whispered, his hand reaching out to touch the screen.

"Doctor," Raven whispered.

"I will need a moment to think about this." The Doctor turned back to the TARDIS and opened the doors. He closed them behind him and leaned on the railing.

"I can't believe that they have her!" He yelled. "How could they even do that? I thought she was safe with River Song! I thought she was safe from them!"

"Doctor?" Raven asked him. "Are you thinking about letting them imprison you?"

"It's not like I have any other choice."

She walked over to him. "You could leave this ship and keep saving lives in the TARDIS. You don't have to be a prisoner there. It's not worth it. Trust me. Life imprisoned in Skaro is not worth it."

"How do you know what Skaro is like?" he asked her.

"Because it feels like I've been there before." Raven blinked. "I think that Skaro is part of my history. Part of the history that I still have to remember. I can remember being there, yet I can't remember. It's like there's something keeping me from filling in all those holes in my memories. Doctor, the only thing that I really know is that Skaro is not a place for you to be in."

"You're suggesting that I leave my daughter to be killed by Daleks?"

"How do you know if you'll live through the Daleks if you go with her? How do you know if they won't kill her the moment you agree? How do you even know that's really Calissa on the screen and not just some fake imposter? How do you know any of this?"

"I just know that I have to try something." The Doctor turned back to the door and placed his hand on the wooden panelling.

"Ravena?" he called back. "When I'm off of this TARDIS, you are to fly it far away from here. Somewhere the Daleks will never find it."

"I just hope you know what you're doing," she whispered.

The Doctor was led along the metal halls of the ship, his chains connected to the Daleks. It seemed odd to him how slowly the Dalek ship could travel to Skaro. As they walked, he caught sight of the TARDIS, chained up as it had been these past seven years now.

The Daleks shoved him into his cell. He pressed his face against the bars as he stared at the TARDIS. It hadn't vanished yet. That concerned him greatly. He had told Ravena to get the TARDIS out of here. Now, it was in the hands of the Daleks.

He dug around for his sonic screwdriver, shoved it between his teeth, and used it to unlock his chains. He then switched it over to his hands and used it to open his cell door. The Doctor ran to the TARDIS and used the sonic to undo the locks. He opened the door and rushed inside. There, to his surprise, he found nothing.

The TARDIS was empty. Completely empty and untouched for seven years. He checked under the controls and around the engine room. Nothing. Not a single sign of Raven anywhere, almost like she had just vanished into thin air.

He hopped over to the monitor and punched in a command to access the security cameras. The Doctor searched for a tape dating back seven years ago. He found what he was looking for and pressed play.

 _"I just know that I have to try something." The Doctor turned back to the door and placed his hand on the wooden panelling._

 _"Ravena?" he called back. "When I'm off of this TARDIS, you are to fly it far away from here. Somewhere the Daleks will never find it."_

 _"I just hope you know what you're doing," she whispered._

 _The Doctor left the TARDIS and Ravena went over to the monitor._

 _"Alright!" The Doctor called to the Daleks. "I will go with you and be your prisoner as long as you spare the life of that girl right there."_

 _"The Doctor is our prisoner!" the Daleks shouted._

 _There was a flicker on the screen...it was Raven who was flickering...not the screen…._

The Doctor sighed in frustration and backed up.

 _"The Doctor is our prisoner!" the Daleks shouted._

 _Raven's image became fuzzy, and she was no longer there._

The Doctor turned off the monitor and switched to hologram mode. There was Ravena, standing at the controls. He flipped a switch so that the hologram was running in slow motion. Suddenly, she became stiff, and her entire form broke off into atoms. Then, Ravena was no more.

"She vanished?" the Doctor whispered to himself. "Just like that? No sign of injury or anything! She just...vanished."

He sent the controls into life and the TARDIS whirred away.

The Doctor ran out into the ship. He held up his hands.

"Stop everything!" he yelled. "You don't want that man! He's not the Doctor! I am."

"I'm not the Doctor?" The Doctor pointed at himself.

"Just get back into the TARDIS and go far away from here," he instructed. "Trust me."

He explained what had happened. The Doctor nodded and stepped into the TARDIS.

"What happened?" Raven asked him.

"I have no idea." He shook his head. "Anyways, looks like we're going somewhere else for today!"

Raven shook her head in disbelief as the Doctor took the controls. As she watched him, she could almost feel the part of her memory that had been shaky before lock into place. It was a part of her now. A definite, whole, part of her.


	5. Memories Once Forgotten

Raven watched the Doctor as he worked over the controls, his fingers busy with the different levers and buttons. He seemed to be keeping himself occupied all the time, thinking that a certain part of the TARDIS needed tweaking or repairs or just didn't sound right to him. To her, it seemed more like he was trying not to think about leaving Calissa behind with the Daleks.

She stood and looked at the monitor. Everything seemed fine with the TARDIS, just as it always had been. The engines stopped and the Doctor looked up from the controls.

"Seems as though we've landed." He smiled at her. "Shall we?"

They stepped out onto a platform. Raven's body tensed. All around them were security guards pointing guns straight at them.

"Hello there!" the Doctor greeted them. "Are we interrupting something?"

"Who are you?" one of the guards demanded. "State your name and race."

"The Doctor of Gallifrey." He waved.

"Ravena," she muttered. "From somewhere that I don't really know of at the moment."

"Shoot them."

Raven's eyes widened and she held out her hands toward the guns. "Stop!" she shouted. "You can't shoot him!"

"They have guns," the Doctor whispered. "Pretty sure they can."

"Step out of line, kid." One of the guards grabbed her arm and started to drag her away. "You have no idea who you're talking about."

"I have a pretty decent idea." She yanked her arm free. "Look, if you kill him, then you kill me. That's a fact. I'm pretty sure you don't want to kill me."

"What gives you that idea?" One of the men turned the gun in her direction.

"Check your data bases," she challenged. "Ravena Black. Search me."

They entered her name into their watches. One by one, the guns lowered. Raven sighed with relief as the Doctor was pulled to her side.

"What was that all about?" he hissed.

"No idea." She frowned. "Somehow that just came to me, like I knew what would happen. Now, it's just vanished like it wasn't even there. All I know is that our lives are somehow connected."

"Move on then," one of the men shouted at them. "You're needed at the command center."

Door slid open and they were escorted into a room that looked very similar to the TARDIS control room, only the computers lined the walls and one man stood on the raised platform. He smiled at both of them.

"Captain Jack Harkness," the Doctor introduced the man. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Doctor! Good to see you again!" He turned toward her. "Who might this girl be?"

"Ravena." She smiled and took off one of her gloves. She held out her hand toward him.

Jack's eyes narrowed and his hands stayed by his sides. "Heard about you. Think I'd prefer to not shake hands."

"Good choice." She replaced the glove. "So...you and the Doctor've met before?"

"We go way back." Jack motioned around him. "Anyway, Doctor, check this baby out! Complete space satellite that collects all sorts of data from all around the universe! Sorry bout the guards though. All the universe's information in one spot requires high tech security."

"Of course." The Doctor followed Jack around. "Interesting processors there. Very lovely."

Raven eyed the computers. She watched the Doctor to see that he was distracted and made her way out of the room and down the hall. She peered into some of the rooms, seeing old Cyberman technology and other stuff that would amaze the Doctor in all of its robotic parts. She slipped into the file room and walked down the rows, searching for one file in particular. Raven smiled and pulled out the file marked with her name. Inside the folder was a disc. She pulled the disc out and held it out in front of her.

"Access records," she commanded.

"Records available." came the robotic programmed voice.

"Access files for Ravena."

"Files for Ravena accessed."

"Give me all of them."

"File for Ravena Black. Race: Arcania. Species: Death Arcoss."

"That's all?" she asked. "Nothing else? Nothing else at all?"

"Files downloadable."

"Download them," she commanded. "Now. I want to know who I am."

"Files downloading."

A beam went from the disc and into her eye. Raven felt her file being downloaded into her head, into her brain. An alarm went off somewhere. She collapsed to the floor as the file ceased downloading.

"Ravena!" the Doctor shook her. "Ravena! Can you hear me?"

She groaned and opened her eyes. Raven gasped and pushed the Doctor away. "Get off me!" she yelled, standing up.

"She's fine." The Doctor stood as well.

Raven eyed the people gathered around her. "What's everyone staring at?"

"The alarm went off," the Doctor explained. "You literally downloaded your entire history into your head. Do you remember who you are?"

"Ravena Black." She shrugged. "Death Arcoss. I actually remember who I am, Doctor! My memories and everything." Raven winced and she grasped her head. "Headache," she explained. "Having memories zapped back into my head is quite a rush there."

The Doctor pulled her along. "TARDIS. Now."

The Doctor frowned at the monitor. Raven sat, watching him. She didn't see what all the concern was for. She felt fine, and she remembered who she was.

Her name was Ravena Black. She was a Death Arcoss, which meant that she could control when one died. All she had to do was make contact with them through her hands. That way, she would be able to kill them. However, she was also an Arcanian. She was part of the race that understood the seven essential parts of the universe. That included death. To her, death was nothing to be feared. It was only a song that was to be heard at the end of one's life. Death was a peaceful thing. It was simply the end of a lifetime.

Raven also remembered one very important thing. She remembered that she was running. She was running from her own death. From the day she would die. The day Arcania would be invaded during the Time War. The day she would hear the song and breathe her last. That was why she traveled with the Doctor. She was running from her death and she never wanted to face the inevitable.

"Everything alright?" Raven called.

"Hm?" He switched the monitor off. "Oh, yes. Quite fine here. Everything is quite fine. Nothing to worry about."

She stood and walked over to him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Very." He nodded and clapped his hands together. "So! An entire universe out there waiting to be explored! Where shall we go first?"


	6. The Song

Raven stepped into the marble room she recognized as the courtroom. Five robed figures stood before her, hoods drawn so that she couldn't see their faces. She was scared because this was the Order. The Order's word was law here in Arcania. They predicted the future, and they had seen something in her future. Normally, when one is summoned, that future is never a good thing.

"You have been summoned," they intoned. "You have been brought before us. We have seen the day that Arcania will fall. That day will be the day that you die, child. The day Arcania falls. The day that all of your secrets are revealed. The day when the man with the blue box can no longer save you. The day you hear the song. The song of your death."

Raven stood still in her place, unable to move or speak. Suddenly, she turned and ran. She ran and ran. It seemed as though her feet weren't touching the ground as she ran, avoiding bodies and columns. She ran onward. She threw open the doors of the courtroom and ran out into darkness. Into nothingness. Still, she ran. Raven skidded to a stop once she was on solid ground.

Around her, Arcania was in flames. Statues and buildings burned and fell to the ground. She was alone. Completely and utterly alone. Raven hated to be alone. She hated the feeling of abandonment. The feeling she had woken up with on the steps of Arcania. The feeling that she was alone in the world. She spun, staring at the flames as they consumed her world. Raven stopped and fell to her knees as she saw it. The TARDIS. It was being consumed in flames, the wooden exterior cracking, each one echoing in her ears. She ran to the TARDIS and pried open the doors no matter how much the heat seared her hands. Inside, was the small area of the blue box as if the TARDIS was never bigger on the inside. In the flames lay the Doctor, slumped against the side with the sonic screwdriver rolling out of his fingers. He coughed and his eyes opened, focusing on her.

"Why?" he whispered. "Why you?"

Raven woke up, screaming and gasping for breath.

The Doctor hurried to her side, turning on the lights as he ran inside her room. He hurried to her bedside and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's alright, Ravena. It was just a nightmare. That's all. It was just another nightmare."

"Where are we?" she asked him.

"Inside the TARDIS." He smoothed her hair. "Don't worry. You're safe here."

He released her and she curled up, pressing her knees against her chest. Raven had been having nightmares for the past weeks now. Each one was the same. It was always the Order, then running, then the flames. Always that. She had heard that normal children had different dreams each night. She wished she could be one of those children. Then the dreams would end and the flames would be gone.

Slowly, she laid back down. The Doctor sat on her bedside and gently rubbed her shoulder. Her eyes slowly closed and she drifted back to sleep.

Raven stood looking at the Doctor as he worked at the console. He paused and saw her watching him.

"I trust everything is alright?" he asked. "No more bad dreams?"

"It's not the dreams. It's just the memories. The fact that I can't forget." She sighed and closed her eyes. "It's funny. How I remember some things and others are just a great blur. But there is one thing I do remember. The day before I met you. The reason why the entire Time Vortex invaded my head. It's because I wanted to escape. I left Arcania because I didn't want to face one day. Just one day, Doctor. Just one day. It's the reason I keep running. If I just keep running long enough, then maybe I can just outrun that day."

"Running isn't everything. Some day you'll have to face your fears. You can't keep running forever."

"I can try." She smiled. "I can run until I'm tired. Then I'll face that day."

"Until then, the TARDIS welcomes you anytime, Ravena." The Doctor flipped a switch. "Where shall we run to this time?"


	7. Nevermore (part 1)

The TARDIS stopped. The Doctor ran to the door and threw it open. He stared at what lay before them. Raven stared in horror.

It was a planet. A reddish-purplish planet. Raven backed away.

"I don't understand," she whispered. "How? How did this happen? That's Arcania!"

"Exactly," the Doctor added. "You told me once that it shouldn't exist. How does it exist now?"

"I don't know." Raven shook her head. "I just don't know. That planet. It was destroyed in the Time War. It should've been destroyed."

The Doctor closed the doors and checked the monitor. "It looks like the entire planet is currently unstable. There's something there. It's stuck alright, but in two different time periods. If I could just lock onto the other time period, maybe we'll be able to find out what's going on." He paused, feeling that something was off. "Ravena? Did you hear me?"

He turned and watched as she fell to the ground, revealing the man in armor with a gun. He picked Ravena up and slung her over his shoulder.

"Oi!" the Doctor shouted. "Get off my ship!"

The man pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. The Doctor fell to the ground, losing consciousness as the man turned and walked out the door.

Raven woke up on a white sheet. She frowned at the glass above her and tapped on it. Her eyes widened as she realized that her gloves were missing. She looked at her body, shocked to find that she was dressed in a simple hospital gown. Was she in the hospital again? Was she back in the asylum?

A door slid open and a man opened the lid and she slowly sat up as he set the lid off to the side.

"Why am I here?" she demanded. "I want explanations."

"You have been summoned by the High Mistress of Arcania." He turned to look at her, bright amber eyes glowing softly in the harsh light.

"Cairo," she whispered.

The Doctor stood, pulling himself up. He shook himself and straightened his bowtie. He ran over to the controls and typed away at the monitor.

"Find her," he urged the computer. "Just find her so we can go rescue her. Come on!"

Raven walked through the halls, glad to have a change of clothing, though she could live without the medieval feeling. A long black dress embroidered with gold braiding and a pair of long leather gloves with the fingers still attached. Even the long cape seemed a bit over the top. She picked up the skirt and hurried along, glancing out the windows at the destroyed courtyard below. It seemed odd, her going from one room to a medieval castle. That was the way of Arcania though. Always changing with unexpected people and faces.

The doors opened and she strolled in, head held high and hands held below her middle. She stopped in the middle of the room, facing the stone throne and the woman who sat in it. The High Mistress could command anyone to do her bidding, and not a single man would lift the veil that covered her face.

"You have been away long," the High Mistress intoned. "We had begun to plan your funeral this evening. Cairo had informed us that your ship was no longer piloted and that the captain had gone missing. It is well to see that you are not one of the enemy."

"Ship?" She asked. "What ship?"

"Ah. You have suffered memory loss, child." She held out a hand. "Perhaps the waters will restore your mind."

She turned to the clear waters that moved in the basin. Raven stared at it, her hand shakingly holding the golden cup that resembled a shell. She dipped it into the water and held it out in front of her.

The engines whirred in the room and she turned, smiling to see the TARDIS materializing. The Doctor stepped out, took one look around the room and walked over to her. He slapped the cup out of her hand and pointed at the box.

"TARDIS. Now, Ravena."

She smiled and walked over to the box. She leaned against it and crossed her arms.

"Did you drink any of this?" he asked her after he scanned the water.

"No," she answered.

"Good." He seemed satisfied. "It's poison. The High Mistress of Arcania keeps a basin of poison in her throne room so she can kill her subjects when she sees fit. Why?"

"It is the way of our planet." She held out her arms and a silver platter with crystal goblets appeared, holding three goblets filled with clear water. "Drink, dear Doctor."

He took a goblet and handed one to Raven. She held it in her hand and watched while the High Mistress took the remaining one.

"It's funny, really," the Doctor announced. "Water. Something that should bring life to a planet instead only brings death."

Raven stared at the water, strange memories starting to resurface.

"A High Mistress who poisons her own people, and doesn't let them see her face for centuries." He scanned her with the sonic. "Because she doesn't even know it. Ravena? I am so sorry, but Arcania has fallen."

"I know." She looked at him with sad eyes.

He turned to her and lowered his arm. "You know?"

"The invasion came when I was a little girl," she explained. "I had gone off and escaped with everyone else. We had run to the ships to pilot them, myself and Cairo. His had been captured, and mine was under attack. I escaped and woke up in the asylum, an entire Time Vortex filling my head. I don't know how I escaped. I just remember that I had." She held up her hand and removed the glove. "See? No markings. I was too young to take the oath. Cairo had only taken his the day before we were attacked."

"The oath to serve." He smiled at her. "The only Arcanian who remembers who she is because she didn't take the oath to serve the Masters! That is what makes you such a clever girl, Ravena! Such a clever girl."

"We had believed her to be dead," the High Mistress spoke, the walls shaking with her voice. "Now we find her alive on this planet, hiding like the coward she is. The prisoner will be ours!"

"Prisoner?" the Doctor asked, placing his screwdriver inside his coat and holding out his arms. "Take me away!"

"Doctor?" Raven whispered.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy?"

She backed away, the floor cracking under her in response to her emotions. "You can't negotiate with them," she whispered. "You can't stop them. They won't let you. They'll kill you, Doctor. Right now. This is all a trap! How idiotic of me! It's all a trap! It's always been a trap!"

"A trap for what?" He asked, lowering his arms. "Ravena, what do you know?"

"More than you think." She turned and ran into the TARDIS.

The door closed behind her and the TARDIS started to vanish. Raven was thrown to the floor as the TARDIS rocked back and forth. She curled up on the floor and covered her head, too afraid to look.

The Doctor smiled as the ship crashed through the wall. Ravena was safe with the TARDIS.

"The Doctor will come with us!" The Daleks shouted. "He will take the oath and serve the Dalek Emperor."


	8. Nevermore (part 2)

_There's a day I've been running from my entire life. It's the day that I've feared since the day I heard it was coming. The day I refuse to speak about. The day of Nevermore._

Raven slowly sat up as the TARDIS came to a stop. She walked over to the door and opened it. Bright sunlight greeted her and she stepped out into a park. She walked out, cloak trailing behind her. Everywhere, boys and girls played. She ran to the Doctor's side, glad to see him alright.

"Doctor!" she called.

He turned to look at her. His eyes were vacant, and it was like he didn't see her anymore.

"Doctor?" she looked at him curiously. "Are you alright?"

"Never better," he answered in a monotone voice.

"Come on then! The TARDIS is waiting!" She turned back, surprised to find the TARDIS gone. "Where is it? It was here a second ago."

"Never there."

She turned back to the Doctor. Something was definitely off about him. Who did you bring the Doctor to though? She couldn't think of anyone who could help him. Instead she ran. She ran and ran, picking up her skirts as she ran. Her eyes caught glimpses of the signs on the buildings as she ran.

 _Never pain. Never sad. Never again._

Raven came to a stop, spinning around, looking at all the signs.

 _Never sorrow. Never bad. Never hurt._

She stared at all of them. _Never….Never….Never…._

"Nevermore," she whispered.

Raven woke up, back inside the TARDIS. She scrambled over to the monitor. The TARDIS was hovering in orbit around Arcania. She groaned and leaned against the console. The Doctor. He had been trapped back in the throne room. The Daleks. They were going to take him.

"Doctor," she moaned. "It's all my fault. All of it. I never should've ran. Never. Now it's all my fault."

"Voice programming activated." a voice announced.

She looked up to see a hologram of the Doctor standing in front of her.

"This TARDIS has received a signal," he announced. "The Doctor is dying. Repeat. The Doctor is dying."

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked it. "I can't save him. Not me."

"Message received." The hologram paused. "Message for Ravena."

"A message?" She blinked. "Play it."

"Ravena?" came the Doctor's real voice. "I'm dying. The TARDIS will take you away to a place of safety. You'll be fine, saving people like we've always done together. I know you'll take good care of the TARDIS for me, and she'll take care of you. You're special, Ravena. Don't forget it. Not for one moment." The Hologram moved so that it was looking at her. "There's something in the box. It's an old thing that you had long ago, remember? You'll be able to use it to help you. You're braver than you think, Ravena. So much braver. The girl who lost her memories and ran away with a madman to escape death. Just run, Ravena. Run and live."

The hologram fuzzed and then winked out. She turned and opened the place where the console had indicated. She held the box and removed the lid. Inside was a golden locket. A thick golden locket with a green gem set into the front. She held the chain. The asylum had said that it had been lost years ago when they had found her. She smiled and fastened the chain around her neck. She stood and opened the locket, golden threads enveloping her as she was whisked away.

The Doctor sat in the small prison cage, one hand cuffed to the bars. Daleks patrolled in front of the bars, keeping an eye on his so he didn't escape.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" he asked them. "Make me into one of your slaves?"

The Daleks simply looked at him and continued patrolling. The stopped suddenly and a goblet was held out to him.

"Drink," the High Mistress commanded.

He took the goblet and she returned to her throne. The Doctor rolled his eyes and threw the goblet away. "No thank you. Not thirsty."

"You will drink," the Dalek commanded. "Drink or be exterminated."

"I will drink when I am thirsty." He leaned against the wall of the cage. "However, I am not thirsty, so no drinking here!"

Golden threads appeared and glowed. Ravena stepped out of the light as it was sucked back into the locket.

"I thought you were in the TARDIS!" the Doctor shouted at her.

"I was." She smiled. "Then I ran."

"Obtain the prisoner!" the Daleks shouted. "She must not be allowed to escape!"

"Who me?" She picked up the Doctor's fallen goblet and walked over to the basin. "I thought I'd get a nice drink of water first."

She dipped the goblet in and threw the water at the Daleks. They spun around and short circuited. She rolled her eyes and walked over to the Doctor. She bent down and undid the lock on his cage and let him out.

"You're welcome."

He adjusted his coat and held up a finger. "Next time, you are to stay in the TARDIS."

They laughed and he grabbed her arm.

"Doctor?" She called, stopping.

"Come on." He stepped onto the newly materialized TARDIS. "An entire universe to see and we have to get out of here before the Daleks call for reinforcements." The Doctor turned. He stared at her and felt that something was off. "Ravena? What is it?"

"They wanted me," she whispered, staring at the Daleks. "They won't stop, will they?"

"Then I suppose we'll just have to keep running when they come."

She knelt down in front of one. "They'll never stop," she continued. "They'll keep coming in more and more numbers than before. Somehow, I can feel them, Doctor. An entire planet full of them, just waiting to attack. This entire planet is a ship. They've been using it to track me down, waiting until the TARDIS came."

"Then let's get out of here before they wake up."

"The day Arcania falls," she whispered, closing her eyes. "The day you shall die. The day you shall hear the song. The day when the man with the blue box can no longer save you." Her eyes opened. "The day of Nevermore."

The walls cracked, groaning under the weight of the ceiling. Raven looked up at the growing cracks.

"Arcania is dying."

"Yes, now let's go before this ceiling falls on our heads." He knelt down next to her. "I know it's hard, Ravena, but you have to leave them. It's the only way. They're already gone."

"No, they aren't."

"What do you mean?"

"I can hear them, Doctor." She turned to look at him. "Their songs. It's faint, but I can hear them. They aren't really dead. They're still alive. Still trapped. Still waiting to hear the song. It's the only way an Arcanian can die. The only way they can find peace."

"Then sing to them while you still can."

She closed her eyes and her mouth started to move. The Doctor couldn't hear the song, but he could see it. Cairo and the High Mistress fell as their spirits were separated from their bodies. In a way, it was almost like the entire planet was singing with her, saying goodbye for the last time. Ravena's mouth stopped moving and the song was over.

"The planet is dead." She stood. "An entire song. Not just for the people, but for the planet itself."

The Doctor pulled her into his arms and hugged her. "You did a good thing, Ravena."

He led her inside the TARDIS and closed the door. The TARDIS materialized away and they were off once more.

"Doctor?" Raven asked. "What was it like? When you saw Gallifrey for the last time?"

"Like I was saying goodbye to an old friend." He smiled at her. "Things will get better. You'll see."

She removed her gloves and set them aside. She then hung her cloak on the railing. Her eyes widened as she saw the flash of gold light. It was there, just for an instant, but it was enough. Her eyes drifted toward the door of the TARDIS. Her entire planet destroyed, and all of the people on it dead.

"Where should we go?" he asked her. "Ravena?"

She jumped, surprised to hear her name. "What?"

"I said where should we go?" The Doctor straightened. "It will get better, Ravena. I promise."

"I killed them all," she whispered. "All of them."

"You sang them to sleep."

"All of the Arcanians."

"They were being tortured in a life where they were so close to death, yet so far away. You did a good thing, Ravena. Their songs will live on and they will sing of the brave Ravena. The girl who saved them all."

"Doctor," she whispered. "I said _all_ of the Arcanians."

"I know. I heard you the first time."

Raven sighed, still not facing him. Still not looking him in the eye. It took awhile for her to hear it.

"It's funny, really," she spoke up, her voice barely audible. "The things I remember now since being on Arcania. It's like they've all suddenly come back to me. I remember who I was before the asylum. I remember the ship crashing, the engines failing. I was all alone. That was the first time I was really alone. Then I escaped alive. I've been alone, Doctor. I hate it. The feeling like there's no one else in the world who can help you. How do you live like that? Alone with the TARDIS?"

"I'm not really alone. I have you, Ravena. You make it less lonely here." He took a step toward her. "You made it easier to leave Skaro. That was the reason I left Calissa behind. The TARDIS was empty when I had found it. No sign of you anywhere."

"I know."

"You knew?" He stood still. "What do you mean?"

"The Daleks," she explained. "They had said that I was a prisoner who had escaped. I told you, it's funny the things I remember now. I remember sitting alone in the prison, wondering why I had been abandoned. I remember escaping through a ship, barely making it out alive. Then I woke up, hardly remembering who I was. I think I had crash landed somewhere in a town. There was an old bookstore, full of old books. There was a poem in there. One that had stuck with me. Even now."

She could hear it now, the soft melody of a lullaby. It was distant, not growing in volume or speed. The words were ones she couldn't understand, but she knew their meaning. Too soft to be heard, and too sweet to escape.

"Everything that's happened, Doctor," she continued, "it's started to finally make sense. Now I know why I was left there to be dragged away by the Daleks. I had never understood. Not until now."

"Ravena." He reached out a hand, his fingers inches away from her back. "You're not telling me something, aren't you? What are you keeping from me?"

She turned around slowly, the lullaby matching her steps as she faced him. "All of the Arcanians heard the song, Doctor. It just took awhile, that's all."

He stepped forward and held up a hand to her cheek. "You're not coming with me, are you?"

She shook her head. A tear flowed from her eye. He wiped it away with his finger.

"I had almost forgotten that I was Arcanian," she whispered. "Now I remember. When they found me, they told me that I had to forget my old life. That I had to become an Arcanian." She rubbed the back of her hand. "I had to die the way all Arcanians died. I can't stop it, Doctor. You know that."

"Of course I do." He smiled at her with those big brown eyes. "We still have right now though."

Her legs gave out and he caught her, slowly lowering her to the floor. He held her in his arms and wiped away a stray piece of hair.

"I can hear the song now. It's getting louder."

"And I'm right here. I'm not leaving you."

She rested her head against him and he held her close. She held up her hand and saw the flicker of light. She glanced upward. He hadn't seen it. It was odd to her, dying two ways. Part of her old life still remained. It was still with her.

"Somewhere, Doctor," she whispered, "there's a girl, piloting a ship with failed engines. Mind telling her I said hi?"

"Of course." He looked at her. "We've had so many adventures, you and I. We've been running all over the place, we've been to so many places. You, me, the TARDIS. Just the three of us."

"Doctor," she whispered, smiling. "You told me once that you have a name. A name that you've kept secret."

"It's supposed to be an old tradition," he explained. "A Time Lord would never say their name. Not until the end of their life. Not until there's no more regenerating."

She held onto his hand. This time, he saw the flash of light. His eyes narrowed in confusion.

"I told you," she whispered. "There's no stopping it. Nothing I can do, Doctor. Not even this can stop it." She held up her hand and a soft light encased it. "It's too weak. It won't work. Not on me. Besides, I don't have a regeneration left. I had to become a full Arcanian, remember?"

"Try," he encouraged. "Just try."

She smiled weakly. "Doctor…."

"Just try."

The song was increasing now to the point where his voice was almost drowned out by the singing.

Ravena wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled herself up so she could reach his ear.

"You said that Time Lords say their name when they die," she whispered.

"Yes. I did say that." He sighed. "But I already know your name, Ravena."

"No. You don't."

The song reached its final note and she managed to get out one last word.

"Calissa."

The Doctor held her as she fell back into his arms, stunned at what he had just heard. He kissed her forehead and set her down on the floor.

He stood and drove the TARDIS off to one last place.

The Doctor stood on the planet, the stars above him bright and shining. He smiled up at them.

"You'd like it here," he managed. "The air's breathable, but there's really no atmosphere. Just stars. Always stars. Everything's like Earth here, only the stars are out in the sky all the time, always shining down."

He looked at the opal gravestone. It was just a marker for the freshly dug up dirt. He hadn't really known what to put there.

He turned and walked into the TARDIS, closing the doors behind him. He picked up the cloak and gloves and carried them down the hall to where her room had Doctor turned on the light and set the clothing on the bed. He smiled at the drawings posted on the wall. Maps and pictures of the monsters they had encountered. There was even one of him.

He stood out in the fresh air, hands deep in his pockets, eyes focused on the river below. The sun shone down and it was no surprise to him when he heard the footsteps approach.

"Hello, sweetie." River Song smiled. "You called?"

"Calissa," he explained. "I couldn't protect her, in the end."

"I know." River watched him. "Raven called when you had left the Dalek ship and told me what had happened."

"It's not that, River." He leaned on the bridge.

"Then what is it?"

"Calissa escaped that ship," he explained. "She regenerated though. The person she had regenerated into...was Ravena."

River gasped.

"She died, River. She died to save the Arcanians from the Daleks."

The ship was crashing. She knew that much. She typed at the controls, searching for a way to save herself. The crew had all escaped, and now it was just her. The prophecy was true. She was going to die. Already Cairo's ship had been captured. It was only a matter of time before the Daleks caught up to her. The engines had failed. This was it.

A box appeared on the dashboard. She opened it and read the note inside.

"Until we see each other again. The Doctor."

She held up the locket. A thick golden piece of jewelry. She tied it around her neck and opened it. Strands of golden light engulfed her and she vanished just as the ship crashed.

The Doctor smiled as he watched her escape. Ravena's locket meant something after all.

"You'll be safe now," he whispered. "You've survived, Ravena. Don't worry. You'll see me again soon. For now, it's time I get going. You brave, amazing girl. You're not just Calissa, you know. Not just my daughter. You're Ravena Black, hero of Arcania."


End file.
